6 THINGS TO DO DURING THE LONG WINTER MONTHS

Winter is coming. Windy, chilly winter. You will feel the cold breeze deep in your bones if you’re not prepared. Often we equate winter with dullness and boredom, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In this article, we give you six ideas that can liven up your winter months. So cheer up, and let’s welcome winter with open arms.

We all love summers, don’t we? What’s not to love? You could go outdoors, enjoy the sun, have a barbeque in the backyard, play cricket on the weekends, go to the beach, enjoy the extra hour or so of daylight, take in the view of a warm sunset, and so on and so on.

What does one do in the winter, though? The word ‘winter’ conjures up all sorts of depressing images in the head, and not without reason. But in this article, we have a list of things that you can do during winter. And guess what? Many of these are even fun!

1. Organise a movie marathon

Whether you do this by yourself or with a bunch of friends (we recommend the latter), put some effort into the movie watching session, something more than sending a text message to everyone to ‘come over and let’s watch some movies’. We suggest that you pick long series like the Harry Potter movies that will allow you to watch end to end in one nine-hour session. Or you could pick movies that tie into a theme (chick flicks), or you could pick the top five rated movies made by an iconic director (Spielberg? Tarantino?). These lists are readily available on the internet; all you need to do is make everyone in your friend circle happy. Make sure you don’t have a party pooper.

2. Get some exercise

Yes, we know we said ‘fun’, and when has exercise ever been ‘fun’, right? Well, wrong. There are many winter exercises that are fun, and which can be done in a group. We recommend that you check out your local warm-water swimming pool. If you don’t know how to swim, here’s a great opportunity to learn. (Hint: it takes no more than five days to learn basic freestyle.) Everyone loves a hot shower on a cold winter day; why wouldn’t you enjoy a warm swim? This way you have fun and you do something good for your body. Win-win.

3. Read a book

Remember books? With the proliferation of internet and other ‘content’, people don’t seem to have time for reading any more, to make the effort to create a movie of their own in their minds. But since it’s snowing outside anyway (or it’s bitterly cold, even if sunny), why not curl up inside your bedroom with a book? Why not rediscover an old childhood classic, or forge new terrains by picking up something you’ve not read? Read slowly, not with the intention of finishing the book as soon as possible, but to drink in the words, and allow them to come alive inside you.

4. Play some board games

This is another old winter favourite. Bring out the board games, round up some friends (no more than four or five to a game) and organize a whole day of playing indoors. Here, too, make some effort to infuse some fun into the proceedings – put up a leader board, give away some prizes at the end, something to get people competing with one another. Scrabble, Monopoly and Risk are prime essentials. You can create your own ‘winter day’ set of games according to your tastes.

5. Turn to the internet

This is best had alone. Ever since the internet has brought the shopping malls of the world to our computer screens, women have found hours and hours of pleasure in just browsing for shoes and dresses that they probably will never buy. If you’re a woman, that’s where you will head. If you’re a man, however, there is a wealth of games available online that you can start playing at the click of a button. Or find that old classic video game that you used to enjoy playing as a teenager (Age of Empires? Prince of Persia?) and reboot it for a few hours of nostalgic fun.

6. Go out

You will need some winter clothes if you’re venturing out, but who says you have to spend your whole time indoors? There are a lot of things happening all around town in Australia during the winter months. Whether it is a festival, a Karaoke bar, an art gallery, or a day trip around the city in which you live, just gather a few friends, make a plan, and head out to brave the elements. If nothing else eventuates, there’s probably a footy match somewhere in your local park. Just go there and cheer your heart out for one of the teams. Doesn’t matter if you don’t know them.

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